Fr Shishir Gregorio of Kakrial Church in Dhaka, Bangladesh, was abducted after receiving a call that her sister was ill. Police have arrested a local leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on charges of kidnapping Gregorio from Tongi's Pagar area on Oct. 2.

The arrestee was named as Shams Kabir Sourav, 25, an organizing secretary of Tongi Government College. BCL is the student wing of ruling Bangladesh Awami League.

Police said that Gregorio's sister had her phone number diverted to one of the abductors' phones.

Gregorio received a phone call informing him that his sister living in Pagar is seriously ill and asking him to visit her immediately, said Tongi police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Feroz Talukder, according to Prothom Alo.

When Gregorio arrived in Pagar area in the evening, he was abducted by Sourav and his assistants. He was kept in a room and was beaten when he restricted their attempt to take his phone and motorcycle.

Using Gregorio's phone, the miscreants demanded rupees 3 lakh from his relative as a ransom.

However, later when the priest started to scream, locals in suspicion informed the police.

Police arrived at the scene and detained Sourav and rescued Gregorio and his motorcycle. The injured priest was rushed to a nearby hospital.

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